


The Imperial Remnant is on the Porch

by Krayt_spitter21



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Area 51 are the bad guys, Earth, Ezra is a dumbass but also a good boy, Faro is close to crying, Faro was with Thrawn when the end of Rebels happened, Found Family, GASP, Lots of Angst, Lots of confusion, M/M, Major Character Injury, Medical Procedures, Other, Post Rebels AU, Thrawn is Thrawn, another where did they go fic, children comforting adults, the adults are a mess, they went to Earth, tragic backstories!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27553753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krayt_spitter21/pseuds/Krayt_spitter21
Summary: Where exactly did the purrgils take the Chimaera? Well, the answer might be more familiar than you think.Note: Old story that was originally on FF.net, but is now new and improved!
Relationships: Ar'alani/Karyn Faro, Karyn Faro & Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 18
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I had this idea back in 2014 and I always liked the premise. If you want to read the original unfinished train wreck, it's on FF.net somewhere under the same name. Now of course, there's new canon and a lot more material to play with, (Thank you Mr. Zahn) so here I am, in the crazy rollercoaster that is 2020, re-writing and hopefully creating something that's better than what 13 year old me thought was good. Hope you like it folks. :)) 
> 
> Oh! And don't forget to review! Tell me what you did or didn't like!

Lightning could be seen from outside the cracked viewports and thunder was rumbling all around them as the pirgils wound their huge tentacles over the ISD _Chimaera._ Ezra couldn’t see anything past the broken transparisteel to the world below. Hell, he couldn’t see two feet in front of him. 

Rain stung at his eyes but he couldn’t wipe them without losing the delicate connection with the purgils. They had come out of hyperspace moments before and the lights had cut out. The only thing keeping the bridge from total darkness were the two emergency lights toward the back and the occasional flash of lightning across the sky.

Ezra looked to Thrawn who was still in the grasp of a giant purple tentacle. A piece of the ceiling had come loose at their re-entry into real space and hit the Grand Admiral, knocking him out cold. That was good right? 

Well no, if you actually sat down and thought about it. Number 1, Thrawn was the only Imperial still alive on the bridge and thus the only one who could theoretically pilot a Star Destroyer and Number 2, Ezra was getting exhausted with the pain in his shoulder and was about to lose his connection to the whales any minute now. When, not if, that happens, they would start falling into the atmosphere of an unknown planet at breakneck speeds.

‘Oh Kriff’, Ezra thought.

“Uh, Thrawn?” Ezra strained.

The Chiss did not stir, even as rain started to come through the broken hull of the ship and onto his face. 

“Hey! Hey, asshole! Wake up!” 

Again, no response. Damn. Ok, no problem, it’s fine. Yeah, this is fine. He’ll figure something out. The Force was with him and all that. The rain was pouring like crazy and hitting the _Chimaera’s_ hull in a loud roar. Ezra tried one more time, feeling like the third time's the charm.

“Thrawn! Wake the Kriff up! C’mon man!” 

Just then, lightning struck the _Chimaera_ , engulfing it in blue/white electricity. The metal acted as a conductor as it reached the purrgils. The great space whales shrieked in agony and the tentacles holding Thrawn in place tightened. It was then that the Chiss finally awoke screaming, as his rib cage was crushed by the pressure. Ezra, feeling the pain the purrgils were, let go of his connection to them immediately and fell to the floor.

The ship shook as the beasts abruptly abandoned it. With a rallying call and a flash, the pod disappeared from sight and into the blue swirl of hyperspace.

The world started to tilt and soon Ezra was losing his footing on the slippery deck. He tried to steady himself, but gravity won out and he went sliding towards the blast doors. 

Thrawn slid as well, no longer being held captive by a cold embrace. A stray console that had been ripped loose was heading straight towards him. Acting purely on instinct, Ezra used the Force to pull Thrawn’s once again unconscious form out of harm's way. 'Out of harm's way' however, meant that Thrawn slammed against the door controls and would have slipped out of them if a woman wasn’t there to catch him by the arm. 

Climbing over debris and gripping the edge of the blast doors was a woman in an olive green uniform. She yelped in surprise, but acted quickly as she held onto Thrawn’s arm, preventing him from sliding any further. The massive ship continued to fall out of the stormy sky as they were getting closer and closer to the ground.

“The nav controls!” The woman shouted at Ezra.

“What about them!” He yelled back. His back was to the wall and he reached down to haul her and Thrawn back onto the bridge.

“What do you think!” She pulled Thrawn up to the ledge and pushed Ezra out of the way.

“Keep him still!” 

He could barely hear her as the rain, wind, and thunder pounded relentlessly against the hull. Still, Ezra obeyed as the woman started climbing up to the navigation station. Once she reached it, she started working as fast as she could, pressing buttons and pulling levers at seemingly random. Gradually though, Ezra could feel the ship level out as they descended. It seemed not all of the engines were down and the repulsers were still somewhat operational.

“Hold on to something! This is gonna be rough!” No sooner had the woman said it than a horrible jolt caused her to fly off her feet and into the starboard crew pit. Ezra and Thrawn were thrown to the side as well and all the young jedi saw before blacking out was a metal wall heading straight for his face.

…

A slap to the face woke him up. Ezra yelped in surprise, pain stinging the side of his face.

“What the hell?” He shouted.

“On your feet,” a voice said roughly. He looked up and saw the woman who crashed landed the ship. Her hair was wild and she had lost her cap. Blood was running down the left side of her face.

“Get up, I need your help.” She left his side and walked past him to Thrawn who was laying on top of a scrap piece of wall. A closer look and Ezra could see the man’s chest rise and fall slowly with difficulty. It was a miracle, the dude was still alive in Ezra’s opinion. The woman looked up at him again.

“Well?” She asked, a bit of urgency in her voice. Ezra reluctantly got up and went over to her. She didn’t have to be so rude about it. She gestured at Ezra to take the end of the makeshift stretcher near Thrawn’s boots while she took the other side. It was then as he was looking at her back, that he saw she had a rucksack with her. It was no doubt filled with supplies. It seemed not all Imperials were as dumb as they looked.

“On three, one, two,” Together they heaved up the alien and the lady led the way. Walking slowly and mindfully, they maneuvered through messy hallways and past collapsed hallways. Every now and then, a lifeless stormtrooper or crew member would cross their path. The woman never hesitated or stopped, but Ezra could feel her growing sorrow through the Force. Neither of them spoke as they walked on.

Eventually, they reached a lounge area with wide and shattered viewports. Through the openings, solid ground could be seen. It was muddy, but solid enough. It seems that the rain had finally stopped.

Climbing through, the planet was dark and the only light came from the small fires that peppered the _Chimaera_. They walked a few hundred meters before finally stopping to make camp. It was cool outside, but the humidity from the storm had made the trek almost unbearable. They gently placed Thrawn on the ground and the woman started rummaging through the bag. Not three seconds after Ezra sat down that the woman finally spoke.

“Go to those trees over there and get firewood.”

“Hey, can’t we rest a minute? This humidity is killing me.”

She snapped her head up and the glare she gave him could melt Hoth.

“That won’t be the only thing that kills you. It gets cold in deserts at night and with humidity, it’ll only get colder. If you don’t want to freeze tonight, I suggest you go get that firewood.”

Rolling his eyes, Ezra scoffed and turned his head away. He knew that. Well, he did _now_ anyway.

“Fine.” He got up and made the walk to the small bundle of trees just beyond their base camp. ‘Why does she have to be so mean about it?’ he thought. As he walked, he came to realize what his situation was.

He was stranded with two Imperials in the middle of a desert on an unknown planet which may or may not be inhabited. He had no idea where the purgils had brought them, but he hoped there wasn’t a space port anywhere. His plan would be useless if Thrawn was able to just hop back to Lothal. No, this was it. This is where they were meant to be, whether they liked it or not.

He gathered up a plethora of stray branches and leaves before heading back. Approaching camp, he saw that the lady had already set up a few tents using emergency tarps emblazoned with the Imperial cog.

“Vain much,” he said, nodding toward the makeshift tents.

“Like your people are any better. You put that damn logo on everything, it’s a miracle we haven’t found all of your cells yet.”

“Well maybe you’re not as good as you think you are.”

“ _Excuse me_?”

Ezra sighed. This was not the time to be getting into a fight. She had the supplies, and he was just here for the ride. An unpleasant ride mind you, but right now they needed each other to survive. He put down the kindling and started arranging them to make a fire.

“Look, I’m sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Ezra Bridger.”

The mean lady just stared at him. 

…

Commodore Karyn Faro of the Imperial Navy just stared at him. Was the kid joking? The longer she stared, the more she was convinced that he was serious. ‘Oh my god, he’s not kidding.’ She thought.

Faro started laughing. It was low at first, just a chuckle and nothing more. But as the scope of the past day dawned on her, it grew louder and louder. Soon she was cackling maniacally, all the while, trying and failing to stay upright. Grace be damned as she fell to the still muddy ground holding her sides.

“Hey, come on, I’m trying to be nice here. I don’t even know your name.” Ezra said. She stopped laughing immediately. She got up and glared at him again, this time with not just malice, but pure and unadulterated rage. 

“Nice? _Wrong foot?_ Listen kid, and you listen good. I know who you are. You’re the punk ass rat who brought down the 7th Fleet and the ship I called my home for the last 8 years. You’re the reason most of my crew is dead, some of whom were my friends. Now the _Chimaera_ is their scrap metal tomb. They were like family to me and now I'm stranded on a desert planet with no crew, no real supplies, my nearly dead Grand Admiral, who happens to be a dear friend of mine by the way, and a wizard child from a backwater planet.

“I don’t want to be _nice_ or even _civil_. In fact, I should kill you right now for what you’ve done. But I won’t, because unlike you, I’m not judge, jury, and executioner. You want to know my name? Commodore Karyn Faro at your service. You will refer to me as Commodore, or ma’am. Anything else, and I just might shoot you anyway. Understood?”

Ezra was nearly seething in anger himself, but the image of Kanan flashed through his mind and he closed his eyes. There is no emotion, there is peace. He took a deep breath, letting all of his anger and frustration out into the Force. When he opened his eyes, Faro was still glaring at him, but with tears running down her face, mixing with the now dried blood. He may have been at peace, but that didn’t make the guilt he felt any less present.

“Look, I’m sorry. I truly am, but I did what I had to to protect the people I care about.”

“What do you think I was doing?”

Ezra paused just then. She didn’t actually believe that the Empire was just, did she? That it protected people? 

“You really don’t get it, do you? My home planet was invaded and terrorized by the Empire. My parents were killed, just for disagreeing with it. You call that protecting people?”

“I never said the Empire was flawless. There are some cruel people out in the galaxy and some just happen to be in control of star fleets. I didn’t kill your parents and I’m sorry you lost them, but this universe is complicated. Looking at it in black and white isn’t just foolish, it’s dangerous. If you understood that, maybe we wouldn’t be here.”

Faro threw Ezra a lighter tool to start the fire and retreated into the tent where Thrawn was. 

Hours later, after the clouds had parted, revealing the moon and stars, Ezra lay awake in his tent. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about Kanan and Hera. About the friends and family he might never see again. Then he wondered if Faro or Thrawn had people waiting for them somewhere. Black and White. That’s what she’d called his mindset.

Was that really how he saw things? He tried not to think about it in the past, but regret always crept up on him after missions. Kanan had always told him it was self-defense when he killed, and it was. But it always bothered Ezra; they were the enemy, it was him or them, but in the end, it was always them. Maybe they had people waiting for them too. People who would keep waiting.

Ezra was suddenly reminded of the Force. The balance between the light and dark. If what Faro said was true, did that mean that the Force had a third option no one had told him about? He wished Kanan or Ahsoka were here to help him. There was still so much he never learned.

His thoughts of homesickness were interrupted though, as the sound of a vehicle approaching filled the quiet night. He went outside the tent and floodlights had engulfed the camp.

“Hey! Are you guys ok?”

It seemed the planet was inhabited afterall. Damn.


	2. Chapter 2

Erik and his father were leaning on the balcony upstairs watching the storm as it passed through their small town. Erik loved nights like this, the steady sound of rain hitting the roof and the smell when it hit pavement. To him, the rain could cure anything. It didn’t pour often, but the desert was home and that was enough for him. 

At 16, he and his twin sister Lily were sophomores in highschool. Erik wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and be an astronomer. He believed the stars were there waiting for him. Lily on the other hand, wanted to be an engineer. They always joked that NASA was going to have to hire them as a pair or not at all.

Lightning flashed across the sky with thunder rumbling after it.

“Erik, did you see that?” His father, Alex, said.

“See what?” The kid looked to where his dad was pointing.

“There was something in the sky, it looked like lightning struck it. Go get the binoculars.”

Erik went inside and saw Lily hunched over her science fair project. She was doing a study on satellite radio waves. Every year she lost first place to that bitch Rachel Evans, but this year she just knew she’d win.

“Hey, have you seen binoculars?” He asked her.

“No, check the closet. Can you hand me that screwdriver? This thing is going berserk because of the storm and I need to replace the circuit board.”

“Get it yourself.”

“Don't be a dick, It’s right there on the counter, just give it to me.”

“Fine.” He handed her the screwdriver and went looking through the closet in the hall for the binoculars. Finding them, he walked back out to the balcony.

“Here.” He handed them over and for a moment, Alex said nothing as he tried to find that object in the sky again. When he saw it he gasped.

“What?” Erik asked, suddenly concerned. His father didn’t spook easily.

“It's a plane or something and it’s falling out of the sky! Call 911 on your phone.”

Before he could finish his sentence though, the power went out.

“Shit, the cell towers are down, I don't have any signal.” Erik cried, trying and failing to dial on his phone.

“One, language, two, go get your sister. I’ll meet you in the truck.”

“Wait, where are we going?” He asked.

“To wherever that plane is crashing. There’s no phone or power, so I'm guessing no one else knows about this. There might be people who need help now, come on, let’s go!”

Erik ran back into the house, grabbing his coat from his room and running down the stairs. 

“Lily, get your jacket, we’re going on a mission!” He called.

“What?” She paused in lighting a candle, her hand still holding the flaming match.

“Can't explain, come on, Dad’s waiting in the truck.”

Lily blew out the match and went to put her combat boots on. She grabbed the umbrella and the two headed to their old Ford pick up truck. Five minutes later, their father came out of the house and slid into the driver's seat. He had a backpack with him.

“What’s in there?” Lily pointed to the bag.

“Bandages and stuff, just in case.”

He started the truck and soon they were heading down the flooded highway out of town. The drive took a few hours, bet at least the rain had let up. Eventually, they made it to the desert on the outskirts of the county and a faint orange glow could be seen just beyond Middle Finger Rock. It looked like they would have to go off road to get to the crash site.

“Hold on,” Their dad said. The road was bumpy, and the twins were glad they weren’t in the bed of the truck, as they no doubt would be thrown all around back there. The ground leveled out though and now the crash site could be seen in front of them.

“Holy shit.”

“Language, Lily!”

“Seriously, Dad? It’s a fucking Star Destroyer!”

“Yeah, what the hell is it doing here?” Erik joined.

“Why do I even bother?” He said to himself. “Look, I don’t know why there's a Star Destroyer in the Arizona desert. All I know is that it's on fire, and we’re going towards it.”

“Wait a minute, we’re not going to help _space fascists_ are we?!”

“Erik! They could be hurt, it doesn’t matter who they are, we help people, ok?” Alex said. His son sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, but it doesn’t mean I agree with them.”

“And you don’t have to, but they need help, and we’re the only ones who can give it.”

The ground was muddy, but the truck managed to get through it alright.

“Dad, look, there’s a camp over there!” Lily shouted. Alex looked to where she was pointing and saw that there was a camp not a hundred meters from them. He turned on his brights and headed towards it.

He stopped a bit aways and leaned out the window.

“Hey! Are you guys ok?” 

A boy who didn’t look much older than 19 came out of a tent and held his hand up to shield himself from the harsh light.

“Could you turn those down?” He said.

“Oh, sorry.” Alex turned the truck off and got out, the kids following.

As they approached, a woman came out from another tent holding a blaster. The three immediately stopped in their tracks.

“Who are you.” She demanded, aiming straight at Alex.

“Woah! Back off, they’re here to help, right?” The kid looked at them expectantly. Alex and the twins nodded.

“Yeah, we saw your ship crash and we headed straight here, there’s medical stuff in my dad’s bag.” Erik supplied. At this, the woman lowered her gun. 

“Are you medics?”

“No, but my partner is and I’ve picked up a thing or two from them. Are you hurt?”

“No, but my superior is, can you take a look at him?”

“Of course,” to his kids he said, “Don’t mention anything yet, we need them to trust us first.” They nodded.

“Help him pack up and figure out who he is. It’s on the tip of my tongue.” He turned and ducked into the woman’s tent. When he saw who was lying on the floor, he froze. ‘No way.’ Alex thought. It had been nearly thirty years since he read the original Thrawn Trilogy, but memories of it all came rushing back to him. 

“Can you uh, tell me your names please?” he asked the woman. It was a long shot, but he knew those rank bars, she might be who he thought she was. Her eyes narrowed. 

“Commodore Karyn Faro. He’s Grand Admiral Thrawn. I took a scan and it showed fractured and broken ribs. I’ve been giving him hypo sprays of adrenaline to keep his breathing up, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“Hello, Commodore Faro. I’m Alex Carter-Silva.” He kneeled at Thrawn’s side placing two fingers at his throat. He then opened his eyelids expecting to see fiercely glowing red eyes, but instead found them dim. ‘Oh, that can’t be good.’

“Could I see the scan?” he said aloud.

Faro pulled out a small scanning device. She opened the holographic x-ray and Alex cursed under his breath.

“Ok, well, there’s not much we can do by ourselves. He seems ok for now, but I'm not an expert.”

“Is there a Med Center nearby?” Faro asked. She looked scared but was trying to hide it. Alex couldn’t blame her, he knew the two were friends. Before he could answer, Lily poked her head through the tent opening.

“Dad, there’s something you should see.” Alex looked to Faro, who nodded once. He walked out and instantly saw what was wrong. Lights could be seen just over the other side of the mountain range. The sound of ATVs could also be heard.

“Lily, how far are we from Middle Finger Rock?”

“Well, we passed the mountains and bridge, so that would put us over the border in Nevada.”

“Oh my god, they must have seen the crash, the government’s coming. Start the truck, we gotta go!” He ran back to Faro and Thrawn. 

“The hospital he needs is a few hours from here, but the roads are flooded that way. My spouse should be back home from work at our local clinic, they’ll be able to help until the roads are clear. We have to hurry, the authorities are on their way.” Alex grabbed his bag and made to pick up the scrap stretcher, but Faro stopped him, her blaster once again drawn.

“Why would the authorities be a danger to us?”

Alex put his hands out in front of him. 

“Look, I know you’re scared. Judging by the fact that there's only the three of you, I'm guessing no one else made it. I know this seems sketchy, believe me I do, but you’re gonna have to trust me. If you don’t, Thrawn could _die_ and you _will_ be in danger. I’ll explain as soon as I can, I swear, but right now we gotta get out of here.”

Faro was trying so hard to keep her cool. Tears were threatening to fall again and all she could think about was the look on Pyrondi’s face as the escape pod jettisoned into Lothal’s atmosphere. Faro was supposed to go next, but the ship went into hyperspace. Since then, she found a rebel sorcerer on the bridge, crash landed the _Chimaera_ , saw the corpses of her crew that she was sworn to protect, tried to keep her Commanding Officer alive, and met some really weird ass people on a desert planet that did not trust the authorities. What a day.

She looked into Alex’s pleading eyes. She was tired and on the verge of having a mental breakdown, but Faro knew one thing for certain; this man was trying to help them and he had kind eyes. That was good enough for her and it had to be enough for Thrawn. She holstered the blaster and the two lifted Thrawn’s prone form off the ground as they headed to the truck.

“You’re gonna have to hold him steady in the back seat, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Kids, get in the back!” Ezra and the twins hopped into the truck bed and held on as Alex floored the gas. 

“What, you don’t have repulsors on this thing?” Ezra shouted. He was nearly thrown out as they hit a sharp turn.

“Umm, no actually. It’s an older model” Erik tried. “I’m Erik by the way. This is my twin sister Lily.”

“Nice to meet you dude! We’re big fans!” She yelled. Erik hit her in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Shut up, Dad told us not to say anything,” he hissed. Ezra looked at them in confusion.

“Fans?” The jedi’s face lit up. “Are you guys with the rebellion?”

The twins looked at eachother. They stayed quiet. Ezra only looked more confused. The Force told him nothing either as he searched for feelings from them. They were just as lost as he was. 

The rest of the ride was spent in silence until a town came into view. Alex wasn’t lying when he said the roads were flooded, but he failed to mention that water wasn't the only thing blocking their path. Bushes and tree branches were mixed with mud, making short hills formed by runoff. At one point, they had to get out and push the truck out of a rut. It was slow going, but they eventually made it to the Silva-Carter household all in one piece.

Standing in the doorway waiting for them was Alex’s spouse, Sam. 

“Are you shitting me? You couldn’t have waited till the power came back to leave in the middle of a monsoon? Not even a fucking note, Alex!”

They looked beyond angry, but at the sight of Faro and Thrawn, the rage disappeared, replaced with concern and shock.

“Um, why is the Imperial Remnant on the porch?” 

“Trust me, love, I’ll explain later. Right now, Thrawn’s hurt pretty bad, do you have your bag with you?”

“Yeah, it’s in the kitchen. How bad?” Sam followed the group into the house and grabbed their backpack.

“Lots of fractures on his ribs, a few of them broken. He’s having a hard time breathing.”

“Put him in the guest bedroom,” they said. “Erik, get the ice packs in the freezer. Lily, go get some spare blankets from the closet.” The twins ran to get what was asked of them. Alex led the way to a bedroom on the bottom floor of the house. Gently, they lifted Thrawn and put him down on the bed. Lily and Erik came in with the blankets and ice packs with Sam behind them.

“Ok, everybody out. Faro, you stay, I'll need your help.” No one argued as the door closed behind them. The group went back into the living room where Ezra was standing, looking at a Star Wars poster on the wall.

“What the hell is this?”

Alex just rubbed his eyes wearily.

“Fuck, kid, if that isn’t a loaded question,” he sighed.

“Language!” the twins shouted simultaneously. The night was already long enough and it looked like it was only going to get longer from here. God, this was _not_ how he thought tonight was going to go.

…

Back at the crash site, a man in a black suit was observing the field lab set up. The search and rescue team had already confirmed that there were no other living beings on the ship and had started the process of bagging the bodies for examination. The coroners were going to have a rough few days for sure.

As for the ship itself, a portable lab would be used to analyze it. If this really was a Star Destroyer like the nerds said it was, the United States was about to change the world of Space Exploration forever. And make a fortune doing it.

A woman in a matching suit came up to him.

“Sir, we found footprints that lead to what we believe was a base camp a few hundred meters from the crash.”

“So there were survivors.” He mused. That certainly made things a bit more interesting.

“Yes. We also found tire tracks that lead to and from it. It looks like they headed East into Arizona.”

“ _Find them._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so y'all know, Sam is non-binary!


	3. Chapter 3

Faro watched as Sam worked on Thrawn. His tunic and undershirt were taken off so as to get a better look at what they were dealing with.

“Have you given him anything?”

“Yes, adrenaline, a dose every 3 hours for the past,” She looked at the cracked chrono on her wrist, “6. He’s having trouble breathing but I don’t know why. I took a scan though.” Sam was handed the scan and started to go through their bag for a stethoscope. They listened to Thrawn’s chest, first on the left side and then the right. 

“Ok, so he’s got fractures all over the right side of his ribcage, but nothing life threatening. The left side however, has broken ones. It’s like he hit something after they were fractured.” As they were saying this, Sam was unrolling a beige colored cloth. 

“They haven’t pierced anything, so that’s great. I don’t want to put any bands on him because they might limit his breathing even more, but these wrappings should be able to keep the bones from shifting. The ice packs are to help with the pain and reduce any bruising. I'm surprised he hasn’t woken up yet, or has he?”

Faro shook her head. “He’s been like this ever since I got back to the bridge. I don’t know what happened before.”

Sam looked up from wrapping up Thrawn. Faro looked like shit. Her eyes had bags under them and her uniform was torn, stained with mud and blood. Sam finished up and took a look at Thrawn’s head. It wasn’t bleeding, but there was definitely a bump there. He was gonna have a hell of a headache when he woke up.

For now though, Sam gave him a small dose of morphine. His face immediately softened, looking peaceful as he slept. Another runthrough of listening to his chest, and Sam was satisfied.

Laying blankets over him, Sam spoke again.

“Looks like he’ll be ok for now. He shouldn’t be up and about though, This is gonna take weeks to heal. He might peirce a lung if he isn’t careful.”

“I’m sorry, I appreciate all you’re doing, truly, but why don’t we go to an actual hospital? With bacta tanks?” Faro asked.

“Well, we could, but they wouldn’t be doing much more than I am unfortunately. I’m afraid we don’t have bacta here.” 

Faro stared at Sam. No bacta? They had to be pulling her leg. There was bacta everywhere in the galaxy. Why would it not be here?

“Trust me, he’ll be just fine if he doesn’t strain himself for a few weeks.”

If it was at all possible, Faro looked even more defeated than she already did. Something pulled at Sam. She couldn’t have been any older than theirself or Alex, but right now, something in those eyes made Faro look as young as the twins. It seemed like she was holding back tears again.

“Hey, why don’t we patch you up though, huh? That gash doesn’t look too bad, but I don't want to risk it getting infected.”

Faro raised a hand to her head as if suddenly realizing that she was hurt. With one last glance at Thrawn, she got up, closed the door, and followed Sam to the kitchen. Two minutes later she was getting her hair washed in a sink with warm water. Sam was massaging her scalp trying to get the blood out and Faro had to admit, it was soothing. 

“Don’t fall asleep on me, you won’t need stitches, but you might still have a concussion.” It was silent for a few more minutes before Faro spoke again, this time in almost a whisper.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Helping you?” Sam scoffed. “Don’t worry about it, everyone should look out for each other. At least, that’s how I was raised.”

“Even if we’re Imperials?”

“I’m a doctor, hun. I don’t give a flying rat’s ass what you are, I help everyone.” They shut the faucet off and wiped their hands on a rag. Faro smiled.

“I wish others had that sentiment. Can I ask you something?” 

Sam hesitated just a fraction of a second before answering, the Commodore caught it anyway. “Of course.” They said.

“How do you know my name? I told Alex, but not you.” Sam paused for a second before grabbing a towel and handing it to Faro.

“Well, I saw your rank bars. A Commodore, right?”

“Yes, but you said ‘Faro’. How did you know.” This time it didn’t sound like a question. Sam hesitated again.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that my husband didn’t say anything to you yet.” They sighed and looked at the digital clock on the stove. It was nearly 2 in the morning. They took a bandage from the cabinet and applied it to the Imperial’s head wound.

“Look, it’s late, I know you’re confused, I am too, but I think this is a discussion for when the Grand Admiral wakes up.” 

“Could I at least use the holonet to contact the Navy?” 

Sam froze, then turned their back to Faro.

“I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” they said.

“I assure you, no harm will come to you or your family.” At this, Sam turned, alarmed.

“Why would harm come to my family?”

“You’re rebel sympathizers, aren’t you? Why else wouldn’t you trust the authorities.” The tension left Sam.

“Oh, umm, well, that’s not entirely correct. Why don't we get you out of those clothes first and then we can talk in the living room. I’ll be right back.” Sam left to get something less muddy for Faro to wear while she sat and contemplated what the hell was going on.

On the one hand, this planet could be home to rebel sympathizers, however, they were giving her and Thrawn aid for the time being. ‘They obviously know who we are, so that means there’s a chance they’ll take us to rebel high command. But if they were, wouldn’t they have done that already? Why do they seem so nonchalant? Were all rebel cells this informal?’

Faro’s musings were cut short as Sam came back with some clothes in their arms.

“Here you go. The bath- I mean, refresher, is down the hall to your right.”

“Thank you.” Faro took the offered garments and headed to the ‘fresher. On the way there, she couldn't help but take a look in one of the rooms. It looked like it belonged to one of the teens. It was covered with glowing plastoid stars and posters of people she had never seen before. The decor that made her eyes go wide however, was the rebel logo plastered on a flag that hung above the bedpost. 

‘So they _are_ rebels. _Fantastic_.’ She turned away from the bedroom and continued down the hall to change.

...

Ezra was sitting on a couch staring at the family that had rescued him and the Imperials. No one had answered him when he asked what the strange poster was. It had the image of an X-Wing pilot looking heroic and running down a metal trench with yellow alien lettering at the top. Was it some kind of propaganda? If it was, Ezra genuinely couldn’t tell for what side, as a Tie fighter was also pictured, shooting another X-wing down.

By now, he had changed into some of Alex’s old clothes and had his shoulder looked at. It wasn’t anything too bad, but he’d be sore for a few days. The group was sitting in heavy silence with the twins having a conversation in a language that Ezra didn’t know. Alex seemed to notice Ezra’s confusion.

“Hey, what did I say about speaking spanish in front of people who can’t understand it?” He told his children.

“Not to,” Erik grumbled. He then said something under his breath that didn’t sound too polite. Ezra was almost to his wits end. Everything was too weird. He wasn’t getting answers, but maybe a bit of convincing was what he needed. 

“Look, if you guys aren’t going to answer my questions, I can always use the Force.” He was bluffing of course, he would never use the Force to invade people’s minds like that, but _they_ didn’t have to know that.

“Dude, not cool.” Lily said in English.

“Yeah man, mind reading is dark side stuff.” Erik had barely finished his sentence when Lily punched him in the arm.

“Shut up, Erik!”

“Ow! Well, it is!” He exclaimed, rubbing his now bruised arm. 

“Wait a minute, what do you know about the dark side? Who are you people? What is going on?!” Ezra shouted.

“Alright, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Alex intervened. If Ezra started panicking, _he_ would start panicking and Alex was _not_ in the mood for that tonight. 

“We’re just waiting for Commodore Faro, then we can try to explain everything.”

“She'll be out in a sec, she’s changing.” Sam had come in from the kitchen. They sat down next to Alex in silence. 

“How’s Thrawn?” Erik asked. Sam looked to Ezra and glared at him. The Jedi was shocked at the subtle anger at him. It wasn’t like HE told the purrgil to attack Thrawn. Though he will admit, he didn't exactly say not to.

“He’ll be fine, but he won't be in any football games anytime soon. He needs a lot of rest.”

“What’s football?” Everyone looked to Faro who was standing in the hallway entrance. She was dressed in an old t-shirt and jeans with her dirty uniform in her arms.

“Nothing important. You can just set those on the table, I’ll wash them later for you,” Alex said. Faro set the clothes down and sat with the rest of them. Here it was, the moment of truth. Sam looked at Alex who shrugged before speaking.

“So, we’re not entirely sure what’s going on, but we feel like you should both see something before we go any further. Lily, can you pull up Disney plus?”

Silently, the teenager turned the tv on and launched the streaming service. 

“Which one are we starting with?” She asked, looking back.

“We might as well start at the beginning. _A New Hope_.”

“I really don’t see how watching a holo is going to explain-” Ezra was cut off as Faro interrupted him.

“You will be silent this entire time, _understood_?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Ezra sunk into the chair and glared at her for a few seconds before focusing his attention on the strange screen. Lily pressed play and the opening crawl began.

…

Two hours and five minutes later, Faro was looking white as a sheet while Ezra sat, staring dumbfounded at the screen with wide eyes. No one said anything for a long while as the music faded. The twins had already gone to bed as they had school the next morning, but Alex and Sam had stayed up. Alex turned the lights on and it was then that Ezra finally spoke.

“What the _fuck_ was that.” He looked to their hosts who opened their mouths to speak, but Faro beat them to it.

“Propaganda.” Her expression gave nothing away, however, the look in her eyes told them everything she was feeling. They reminded Ezra of Maul’s minus the yellow coloring. She was staring hard at Sam and Alex.

“How do you know about the Death Star?” Ezra’s eyes went wide.

“It’s real?!” 

“Yes, and it owes its existence to you, Bridger.” The voice was ragged, but still smooth and cultured. All pairs of eyes snapped to the sound of it and there, leaning against the door frame of the guest room with a hand wrapped around his injured torso, was Grand Admiral Thrawn.

“Sir!” Faro stood up and went to him, putting his other arm around her shoulder as she led him to one of the empty couches. With a grunt, he all but collapsed into it.

“How long were you standing there?” Faro asked, kneeling at his side.

“Since the smuggler and Jedi arrived at what used to be Alderaan.” Thrawn weezed. 

“What did you mean, it owes its existence to me? I didn’t even know it was real till three seconds ago!” Ezra’s anger was starting to mix with his confusion. It took a minute for Thrawn to catch his breath, but he eventually answered.

“Do you know why I created the TIE Defender project? It was so I could compete with that technological terror. The Defenders were more cost effective and useful to the Navy. We even had Darth Vader’s approval. All we needed was funding, but that all failed when you and your Ghost crew compromised the factory.” Thrawn started coughing violently and Sam had to step in to help him breathe.

“Deep breaths, lean back.” Faro took over for him in the meantime.

“The Defender project was forgotten and the Emperor’s favor turned to Krennic’s project Stardust, i.e., the Death Star. What I want to know is, how did you two have knowledge of it and why you made propaganda with it.” 

Sam tried to put it as simply as possible for them. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t propaganda. It’s a film called _Star Wars_. It’s the fourth in a series created 43 years ago by a man named George Lucas.” 

“What do you mean a film? That was princess Leia of Alderaan. She’s a real person, not some fictional character.” Ezra said.

“Hey, we’re just as confused as you are, but you have to understand that to us, up until 6 hours ago, you were fictional characters from a make believe universe.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! We’re real people, I’m sitting right in front of you. We’re not entertainment!” Ezra didn’t care that he was shouting now. Literally none of this made any sense. He searched through the Force, but it was telling him that everything that was being said was true. But, if they weren’t real, then how were they here?

Another coughing fit interrupted them. “How do we know you’re telling the truth? This could all be a ploy from the rebels. None of what we’ve seen has happened, The Death Star isn’t even operational yet.” Thrawn was coughing more and more and Sam was really getting concerned now. 

“Grand Admiral, I think it’s time you get to bed.” Thrawn turned his head to glare at them and Sam was startled by how bright his eyes were. 

“Not until you prove all of this.” He hissed. 

Sam looked to Alex and he just nodded. They took a deep breath and spoke softly.

“Forgive me if I say this wrong, but your full name is Mitth’raw’nuruodo. You’re from the Chiss Ascendancy and a member of the Mitth family, ranking distant if I’m not mistaken.”

Thrawn’s eyes were wider than Faro had ever seen them. His attention turned to Alex as he joined in.

“Right before you crashed, Ezra here summoned a pod of Purrgil to Lothal with the Force and sent you through hyperspace, dismantling the 7th fleet at the same time.”

“Like we said, there’s a whole universe that we’ve had for decades to study. We know everything that’s happened and probably everything that will happen. I’m so sorry.” Sam finished.

Faro put a hand to her mouth, not quite believing what she was hearing.

“They use it then. They actually destroy Alderaan. That’s 2 billion people.” She said. There was silence now as the weight of what they had seen dawned on the three visitors. The only sound that could be heard was Thrawn’s ragged breathing and occasional coughs. The last fit though was particularly hard and as Thrawn drew his hand back, there were flecks of blood mixed with the saliva.

“Alright, now you really have to get to bed.” Sam said. Thrawn gave no argument or resistance as Faro and Sam helped him up. Ezra watched as they left and he and Alex were left in the sitting room.

“I’ll uh, go get some blankets and stuff. You’re ok with sleeping on the couch right?” Alex asked the young man. 

“Yeah, sure, that’s fine. Thanks,” he said in a hollow voice.

“No problem.” Alex left and Ezra was left alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that wouldn’t stop racing. Two billion people, gone in an instant at the hands of the Death Star. A weapon that he unintentionally helped bring into existence. What did that mean? Was he responsible? Thrawn certainly thought of it that way. The only comfort he could find in this discovery was the fact that the Death Star would be destroyed by the rebellion. 

Alex came back with the blankets, but Ezra paid him no mind. He heard his host say goodnight, but was too lost in his thoughts to say it back.

The young Jedi curled up on the couch and started to think about the Ghost Crew. What would they think? Deep down he knew they wouldn’t blame him. This was war, and sometimes there was nothing you could do, but just like the talk he had with Kanan all those years ago, he just couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that washed over him. He wondered if this Luke Skywalker felt the same way about all those lives on the Death Star. At this point, the only thing Ezra knew for sure was that he missed his family and they were the last thought he had before finally closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.

...

It was a short walk, but by the end of it, Thrawn was being half led, half dragged to the guest bed. He sighed when he finally sank into the pillows.

“You mentioned it was all a series. How much more is there?” Faro asked.

Sam sized the pair up. “Way more than we can get through in one night. We can tell you more tomorrow. For now, you two should really get some rest. I’ll tell Alex to get the air mattress out for you, Commodore. If you need us, just give us a shout. We’re right down the hall.” They smiled warmly despite the bonkers situation and left without another word.

...

“Sir?” Faro was quiet, unsure if the Admiral was even still awake. The air mattress was comfortable enough, and she had to admit, she was exhausted. Her nerves however weren’t letting her sleep.

“Yes?” Thrawn was tired as well and his ribs hurt like all the nine corellian hells put together, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t as anxious as she was.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered. It was just a feeling she told herself, nothing more. But she had lived through the Clone Wars and served with Thrawn long enough to know that when you had a gut feeling about something, you’d better listen to it.

“As do I, Commodore. As do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you liked it! And don't forget to review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, the holidays were surprisingly busy. Happy New Year to all!

The morning came late in Arizona during the Fall. By the time the sun rose above the mountains, all traces of the storm the night before had vanished. There was certainly something to be said about the efficiency of the city workers who had cleaned all the mud and runoff during the early hours. It left little for certain government agents to find among the now nonexistent tire tracks that went into the small town of Palm City, so named for the hundreds of palm trees scattered around. 

It didn’t matter though, they knew the aliens had to be here somewhere. Small towns have big mouths after all. It was only a matter of time.

…

Karyn Faro awoke to the smell of her father’s famous Grit-Cakes. Stars, how she missed those. She remembers waking up for school to those wonderful flat cakes that were positively drowning in tree syrup. A few more minutes and her father would come bursting into her room, nagging her to get out of bed.

Her eyes snapped open. Her father was dead 12 years now. She was a grown woman in the Imperial Navy and she was sleeping on an air mattress. Faro sat straight up, taking in her surroundings.

“It wasn’t a dream,” she moaned, putting her head in her hands.

“I’m afraid not.” Thrawn was up as well, blinking the sleep from his eyes. It seems he had a rough night, but was sharp nonetheless. Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Thrawn said. The boy, Erik, came in and stood in the doorway.

“Are you two up for some breakfast? We’ve got pancakes and bacon.” 

“What are pancakes?” asked Thrawn.

“They’re like Grit-Cakes, Sir. It’s just a different name for them.”

“I see.” Faro rolled her eyes. Translation: He had no idea what Grit-Cakes were either. 

“Breakfast would be appreciated,” she said. “We’ll be right there.”

“Cool.” The kid left and Faro finally got up.

“Do you need help, Sir?”

“Just to get my bearings.” She helped him stand and he steadied himself. He put a shirt that was laid out for him on and moving slowly, they walked to the kitchen. There, the smell of food was almost overwhelming and Faro realized just how hungry she was. 

Sam and Alex were cooking while Ezra was talking with the twins in between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.

“So you guys know about the Force?” 

“Totally, light side, dark side, no side, the whole shebang,” Erik said.

“What do you mean ‘no side’?” Ezra looked at them in confusion. Lily just shrugged.

“Y’know, like Ahsoka. She’s not really a Jedi anymore, so I guess that counts as no side.”

“You know about Ahsoka?” Exclaimed the Jedi.

“Dude, I think it’s better to ask what we don’t know about,” she pointed out.

“Then I suggest you tell us everything.” Lily looked up from her breakfast and stared into red glowing orbs.

“Uhh, loaded question there, dude. I mean, Sir- Admiral, A-Admiral Sir.” She stammered. Thrawn’s eyebrow went up. Alex visibly cringed.

“Ok, you two need to get to school. Take the truck, the roads should be clear by now.” He tossed Erik the keys and the twins cleaned up their dishes. 

“Come straight home after school, ok? I don’t want you out late.” Sam called after them.

“Yeah, yeah. Bye Sam, bye Dad!” Erik shouted as they went out the door.

“Teenagers,” Alex muttered. Turning to the Imperials he said, “Sorry about that. How’re you feeling?”

“Not ideal, but certainly better than last night,” Thrawn assured.

“Well that’s good. I’ll give you some pain meds for now, but just take it slow for a few days,” Sam told him.

“I thank you for all the help you’ve given us, but I do believe it’s time we discuss our situation.” 

“Of course, can I get you guys coffee? We’ve got eggs and pancakes too.”

“Pancakes for me please and caf if you have it,” Faro supplied.

“Oh right, we call caf coffee here, my bad.” Alex poured two hot mugs while Sam put the plates down.

“And where exactly are we?” Thrawn took a sip, noting the subtle taste of the alien beans. It was bitter, yet full of flavor. A huge improvement from the sludge they had on Star Destroyers.

“Well,” Sam tried, “The planet we’re on is called Earth and we are in what we call the Solar System.”

Thrawn nearly choked on his coffee which turned into a coughing fit while Faro just stared at the parents in disbelief, forkful of pancakes still on its way to her mouth.

“You’re joking right?” Ezra blurted, clearly as shocked as the Imperials. “That’s like the most unoriginal name for a planet ever. And did you really name your sun after the word _sun?_ ” Alex cleared his throat. It was his time to shine as the resident astronomer.

“Yeah, about that, we don’t actually know very much about the galaxy beyond the system that we’re in. As far as anyone knows, we are alone in the universe. Clearly not true, due to your presence, but you should know, we’ve barely mastered spaceflight and we only have 2 space stations in orbit, strictly used for space exploration and research of the cosmos.”

Thrawn, now recovered, spoke in a taught voice. “Do you mean to tell us that this planet is _pre First Contact?_ ”

Alex figited under the scrutiny of the glowing eyes.

“Well, not anymore, haha,” he squeaked. “Welcome to Earth, it's terrible here.”

…

The rest of the day was spent theorizing different possibilities as to how and why the three had managed to come to Earth. Three pots of coffee later and they were down to a few possibilities.

“Ok, so i’m thinking that this is some sort of Jedi Force magic and honestly, I’d look to Ezra in that department.” Sam was sitting on the couch, pencil and notepad in hand.

“Why me? I don’t know what’s going on and the Force isn’t telling me anything either.” The young man crossed his arms and wished for perhaps the millionth time that Kanan was here. He’d know what was going on. And if he didn’t, then he would pretend he did and wing it anyway.

Sam crossed something off on the note pad.

“Bummer. Ok, so that leaves us a few other possibilities. Maybe the Purrgils took you to the edge of the galaxy and we’re just in the Unknown Regions.”

“But that wouldn’t explain how we know about them.” Alex put in.

“Sure it does. Disney rebranded the EU as Legends right? What if that’s all they are? Legends that somehow made their way to Earth and we just filled in the gaps.”

“Alright, so that’s one theory, what else you got?” 

“This is where it gets a little iffy. The opening crawl says ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far far away’, right? Well, what if that’s true and they went a little farther than the Unknown Regions?”

“Then we’d have no way of getting back unless the Purrgils were once again summoned.” Thrawn looked expectantly at Ezra. “Bridger?” 

“Don’t look at me, I had no idea where the Purrgils were going to take us. If I tried it again, we could end up farther away.” Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing now that he thought about it. At least Thrawn wouldn’t be there to be of use to the Empire. If the war was even still going on that is.

Alex sighed. “Look, why don’t we wait till nightfall? We can see if our stars match up with yours. Then we just cross reference them with orbit cycles and we can figure out if this really is the same galaxy/timeline.”

Thrawn entwined his fingers in thought. “I could attempt to make a map of the Unknown Regions, but it would be far more accurate to cross reference your charts with The _Chimaera’s_ navigation system.”

Sam shook their head. “I hate to tell you, but it’s probably in the hands of the government by now.”

Faro looked at the Earthlings in confusion. “And that’s a problem because...?”

“Let’s put it this way, there’s a secret agency within it that specializes in capturing alien technology and using it to make weapons or to capitalize on profits. They’d sooner dissect you than have a conversation, Grand Admiral.”

“How barbaric.” He said with thinly veiled disgust.

“You have no idea. Any other questions?” Sam looked to all three of them, but Thrawn was the only one who spoke.

“Just one, what happens after the Death Star is destroyed?”

…

The twins had just walked in when the ghosts of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda appeared before Luke. The fanfare ended and the movie was over. Thrawn was sitting thoughtfully on the couch, contemplating everything he just saw.

“Aw man, you guys had a marathon without us? Rude.”

“Not the time, Lily.” Alex chided. To their guests, he said, “This was the original trilogy and there are two more that deal with the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the second rise of Palpatine.

“Wait, he’s not dead? He was just chucked into a reactor shaft!”

“That’s what we thought too. This is where the timelines differ. In the first timeline, which we call Legends now, the galaxy sees a whole bunch of conflicts that endanger everyone as a whole, such as the Yuuzhan Vong.

Thrawn’s head snapped to Sam. “What happens?”

“According to the legends, they invade the galaxy at large and another war breaks out spanning 4 years in which time much of the galaxy is destroyed. Even Coruscant fell. They were eventually defeated by Luke Skywalker and his family with the help of the New Republic, Imperial Remnant and Chiss Ascendancy.”

“And the second timeline?”

“We haven’t gotten there yet. The stories are still being made as we speak and no one knows where they lead.”

“I see. And where do we fit in the timelines?”

“Funny you say that, actually. We’ve been waiting for that answer for about two years now. After the purgils took you, no one’s had any news of your whereabouts. What we do know however is that after the civil war, Ahsoka and Sabine look for you Ezra.” 

“Really? How long does the war last?”

“About five years. But again, these are all just legends. For all we know, the films we just saw might not even happen.”

“Interesting indeed.”

…

The fire pit in the backyard was warm in the cold fall air. Erik and Lily were showing Ezra how to make smores while the Imperials and the parents were staring up at the clear sky.

“There,” Thrawn exclaimed, looking through the telescope. “That is the sun that orbits the Bogo Rai system in the Chiss Ascendancy.”

“How do you know?” Asked Alex. He took a look at a star map on his tablet. The star, according to the most recent NASA charts, was called SW-7780. Figures.

“Because the way to identify it is the cloud cluster that surrounds it, giving it the same shape as a saber fish.”

Alex took a turn with the telescope, but was only able to see the star and a planet near it. “How are you seeing that?”

Sam answered the question before Thrawn could though. “Infrared, babe.”

“Oh, right. Well, that gives us one answer, now we just need to see if we’re in the same timeline.” 

Faro crossed her arms. “Without the _Chimaera’s_ nav computer to pinpoint the locations of celestial bodies, there’s no way to tell for sure. Is there really no way to contact the rest of the galaxy?” Alex just shrugged and shook his head.

“Nope. What we have now is as good as it’s going to get for a long while. We’ve sent out radio waves in the past, but we need giant radio telescopes to transmit. Besides, it takes too long to send anything in one direction, let alone multiple.

Just then, Faro gasped. Without a word, she went inside and came back a minute later with her rucksack. Digging through it, she pulled out a small metal box that had cracks running along the side of it.

“Would this help? It’s a long range homing beacon. They’re on every Star Destroyer in case of emergencies, but it was damaged when we were attacked by the Purrgils.” She looked up at the gathered adults. “Maybe there’s a way to fix it?” 

Thrawn’s eyes glowed as he suddenly had an idea. “You may be on to something, Commodore. Mr. Carter-Silva, that machine in your house, is it some kind of radio?”

“Lily’s science project? Yeah actually, she’s trying to create a prototype of what we use at NASA to transmit into space. But she’s only trying to ping off actual satellites that we have so the transmissions come back to Earth, instead of shooting into space. We don’t have that kind of power for something so small.”

“Interesting. I believe that if we combine our technology, a transmission could potentially get through subspace and play over any passing vessels in any nearby system, including Chiss Space.”

Sam’s eyes lit up. “Someone could hear us.”

“Precisely,” Thrawn said. “Though there’s no telling how long contact could take, if we are indeed in the same timeline.”

Sam looked to Alex and a silent conversation seemed to take place between them. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.” Alex said. “We’ve got plenty of room and make more than enough to be stable.”

Thrawn gave a small smile. “Thank you, truly. For now, I propose we get to work as soon as possible. If what you say about your government is true, then we have little time before they catch up to us.”


End file.
